Once at the Milan train station we hopped on a bus to the airport which was about a 45 minute ride. We got the the airport about two and a half hours early, which was a good thing because our flight changed departure time from 2:45 pm to 2pm. We had no idea!!! So we ate some sandwiches for lunch and Adam did the Blog for Cinque Terra Day 2. Sorry it was late but the internet was $$ at our hotel and we really didn't have an extra minute yesterday!
Our flight was great!! When we got to the airport in Barcelona we got our bags quickly and got on another bus to Terminal 2 so that we could catch a train to the city. As stated above we had a long travel day :) Train, Bus, Plane, Bus, Train and Train. After arriving at the final train station we walked around a bit to find the hotel. It is so crazy how Adam and I are getting around in these cities we have never been to before and we don't speak the language. Some of you may not know but the primary language in Barcelona is not Spanish! They speak Catalan which is a different dialect.
We finally found our hotel and were amazed!!! It is very different... good different but not like any hotel we have ever been to before. It is a very "green", modern and trendy hotel which from our first impression is how Barcelona will be. When we walked in the door you have to have your key to enter the main lobby. Once they buzzed us in, one person checked us in and the other gave us a tour of the hotel. They have huge wall size maps of Barcelona to get us acquainted with the city. There is a huge breakfast/snack area. All the snacks (fresh cut fruit, salad, sandwiches, bread, croissant, soup and all the drinks you can think of) are out all day and are replenished several times a day. All of it is complementary and they expect us to take snacks with us during the day. They also have a pretty big case with wine, beer and liquor. Adam already spotted the Cruz Campo (a native Sevilla beer which I have told him all about). We thought that was really cool!!! So after we got some juice we were taken up to our room for a little orientation. When you enter the hallway from the elevator there are doors on each side of the hallway. Both sides have the same numbers... one side is your bedroom with bathroom and the other side is your personal mini lounge area. It has another TV a couch and a hammock with a balcony that looks over the street. We are SO excited about this hotel! It is SO cool!!!
After relaxing for a little bit we headed out to find some Tapas for dinner. In our intro to Barcelona book from the hotel it says that dinner doesn't start around the city until 9pm... and Adam and I thought we could get a little rest and maybe an early night for once.... YEAH RIGHT! We went to a little Tappas bar down the street and had the bartender order for us. We told her that we wanted 3 or 4 most typical dishes. WOW!!! Everyone was starting at us when the food came out. Most of the people there were having Tappas and Drinks before dinner... that was our dinner. So they thought we were crazy! It was a little outrageous when dishes kept coming out! If we would have sat at a two person table we would have been in trouble! We have uploaded a few pictures of the Tappas so you can see what they look like. The four that we ordered were called, Patatas Bolonesa, Choricitos Caseros, Plato Jamon Salamanca and Calamares. They were ALL wonderful. Adams favorite was the Patatas and mine was Choricitos Caseros!!! I see more Tappas in our future.
After dinner we walked around on La Rambla (the main drag) for a little bit but decided to walk back to the hotel and call it a night. We will go out and walk around tomorrow night after the FC Barcelona Futbol game :) I'm sure that will be crazy. When we got back to the hotel we went over to the snack bar and got fresh cut oranges and grapefruit for dessert! MMM. Loving this!
Special Shout-out to our Moms that we will be celebrating tomorrow on Mothers Day! We love you both so much and are so grateful for you! And also my sister that is an amazing mommy to our perfect niece Ella Grace!!! And our Grandmas that raised our amazing parents! We love you all and hope you have a great day!
Wow. Ya'll have had quite a trip and still have a lot left to do. Both of you write very well and descriptive. Sounds like you both are living it up and taking every opportunity, as it should be. Have a great rest of the trip!
ReplyDelete-D
Thank you, Adam & Sarah, for the Mother's Day wishes! I am the most blessed Momma ... I'm so honored that you two incredible kids love, value and treasure your families, so, selfishly, I'm very, very grateful for this! And you're very much in love with each other and with Christ! The 2 most important things that matter to me. Those are my gift from you two today ... and EVERY day .. that I cherish!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize the trip from Cinque Terre to Barcelona would have so many "legs" to it! But that's all much of the adventure ... and you're doing so great at being resourceful and adapting and making the most of whatever situation you find yourselves in. I'm so glad that it's practically almost ALL good experiences (still envisioning that train attendant with the ticket problem ... I want to pinch his head off!:-)
So it's a Futbol game today ... When Dad and I were in London in May of 1981 (30 years ago RIGHT NOW!) ... there were signs at rest area exists saying "No Futbol Coaches Allowed". We were puzzled by this all day as we travelled in our rented midget backwards stick-shift stick car) ... "what?!? They let the teams in but not the coaches?!?) until we learned later that it meant "soccer fan buses" and they are so roudy that they destroy and mess up the facilities! Oh, now it made sense!
Have a wonderful, wonderful day! We love you both SO much and look forward to hearing about your day when you post tonight. XOXO
Momma Terp :-)